Welcome to another informative mid-week post. Today I want to introduce you to Tagxedo, a brand new Word Cloud Generator that has just been released in Beta. I first learned of it after receiving an email from its creator, Hardy Leung, several days ago. I was very impressed and feel it needs to be added to a list of Word Cloud Generators I created a few month ago in my Welcome Back Wordle Blog which generated almost one thousand reads. If you have never read it, be sure to take a look. Take a moment to learn the features and future plans for Tagxedo. As always please feel free to follow me on Twitter (@mjgormans), I will keep you up-to-date and will be sure to follow back! Now let’s learn about a new site ! – Mike
Update from Tagxedo Creator Hardy Leung – I just want to clarify that, since Tagxedo was beta-released a whooping 3 days ago, it has been upgraded many times, and the latest version already supports the “future plans” of using either image or words as shapes. Also, you can now save to both Jpg or Png.
I often get emails from people who wish to have their site reviewed. I always take the time to check out these inquiries and pass on worthy findings to you. I am very excited to share with you this just beta-released word cloud application called Tagxedo. The website proclaims, “Tag Clouds with Style”, a mission I feel was accomplished. You will discover that this cutting edge program is an outstanding free application very similar to our good friend, Wordle . The creater of Tagxedo emphasized to me that Tagxedo has a few extra qualities not found in all Word Cloud Generators. After visiting and experimenting with the site I agree that Tagxedo does offer some awesome features.
So what makes Tagxedo stand out? Some of the features that Leung pointed out to me include; highly interactive (no server round-trip), fast cloud generation time, custom shapes and themes, powerful layout engine (very nice shape hugging), and lots of fonts (including custom user fonts and fonts from Font Squirrel). Most importantly, the interface allows the user to save “word clouds” as PNG image files and it also saves a History View (allowing user to see all “versions” and pick the one they like).
As you explore the site be sure to read the FAQ page which includes directions and future plans for the product. It is school friendly, due to the fact that it does not require a user log-in. Tagxedo is new and powerful, but the interface is still somewhat under construction. In fact, two features that will arrive soon are the ability to use images as custom shapes and the ability to use specific words as custom shapes. The on-line gallery provides an idea of the capabilities that reside within Tagxedo. Please take the time to check out all the features of Tagxedo. As you do, I am sure that you will want to share Tagxedo others!
Thanks for stopping by for another post. Please be sure to subscribe via email or RSS. I encourage you to share this post with others and please return again. I will always keep you up-to-date on Twitter at (@mjgormans). A reminder that I will also facilitate an ISTE Webinar (21st Century Education and Technology Integration: No Cost and Low Cost Investments with Rich Results for Students) on May 12, 2010. You are also welcome to visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki filled with great resources to facilitate educational transformation. Now, take a moment and discover Tagxedo and remember to reply! Thanks – Mike
21 st Century Educational Technology and Learning 